Netflix has announced some truly breaking news this weekend, signing a long-term deal with Comcast that will ensure full access to the service provider's unthrottled broadband network, and provide a smooth experience for its streaming customers due to guaranteed throughput.

The news comes just months after Internet providers fought successfully to end net neutrality, and just days after Comcast agreed to purchase Time Warner Cable for $45 billion, essentially creating a monopoly for Internet and cable in the U.S.

Comcast is just one of a number of ISPs that have been seeing clogged networks and slower speeds for bandwidth hogs like Netflix, causing interruptions for customers, especially those trying to stream in HD or 4K. Additionally, Netflix connected to Comcast through a third-party, Cogent Communications, which led to added "traffic jams," especially during key times like the release of House of Cards season 2. Rather than pay a third-party to connect, Netflix will now deliver their content directly to Comcast, most likely at a higher base quality than they were getting previously. This is great for consumers.

CEO Reed Hastings allegedly did not want performance to drop even further, which could lead to questioning of the Netflix brand rather than the ISPs. By some reports, Netflix accounts for 30 percent of all U.S. Internet peak traffic, by far the most of any service.

Netflix has been trying to have its servers connected to ISP networks, for free, and has been successful with some smaller providers in the U.S. and overseas. The majors, however, like Comcast, TWC, AT&T and Verizon all wanted a fee due to the heavy load of traffic. Following the Comcast deal, Netflix will likely sign similar agreements with the rest of the providers.

15 user comments

So ISP's are not only charging the customers for access to the internet but are also charging the content providers. So if the content providers were not willing to pay then the ISP is not relay giving me access to the internet. Just the parts that pay.

What if Netflix became an ISP? That would really solidify their position to deliver their own content over their own lines. Oh wait...the telco monopolies would never let that happen. Instead, they "regulate" the bandwith of a certain type of content, to the detriment of people who would like to use that content to its full potential (picture/sound quality). Maybe Google will expand its fiber internet quickly, so we can give our money to them instead of Verizon/ATT (and lesser ISPs that use the backbone of the 2 big guys).

Yes they are a bunch of crooks.
How about the new legislation that ALEC is writing for the states.
That is the group of lobbyists that write bills favoring corporations.
They are trying to stop local communities from providing broadband as a public service.
I believe it was in Louisville Kentucky that has a public ISP that has tremendous download speeds for $70 US.
The laws are being given to the US Congress to pass in their state legislatures.
Making it illegal to offer a local ISP!
Thom Hartmann (yes a Liberal ) has spoken about this quite often

AND this sets up a bad precedence. Now every ISP is going to want their chunk of flesh. Expect your Netflix sub fee to go through the roof.

That is a misunderstanding. By cutting out the third parties, deals like this should (in theory) help prices fall, while giving consumers a better stream.

Sounds good but actually wrong, prices will go up as there will be more monopolies and these companies have been double dipping now for years they are not going to stop or pass the savings on, trust me on that one. The true win here is better bandwidth at least for now...

AND this sets up a bad precedence. Now every ISP is going to want their chunk of flesh. Expect your Netflix sub fee to go through the roof.

That is a misunderstanding. By cutting out the third parties, deals like this should (in theory) help prices fall, while giving consumers a better stream.

Sounds good but actually wrong, prices will go up as there will be more monopolies and these companies have been double dipping now for years they are not going to stop or pass the savings on, trust me on that one. The true win here is better bandwidth at least for now...

You are unfortunately correct, Mr-Movies...ANY monopoly can and most often DOES set prices as high as they want, it's the nature of the beast. I wouldn't be surprised if Comcast raises their rates over the usual "annual fees increase" as well. My girlfriend lived in Lancaster PA for a while, and she had a choice between 2-3 cable providers...unfortunately this is far from the norm, and although I'd LOVE to see Comcast buy out her lousy cableco, with every merger, agreement and "deal" that setup is going to be as rare as a local video store...wait, what IS a video store? lol! That right there exemplifies what happens with monopolies: Blockbuster drove out all the old mom & pop stores, only to eventually lose all their storefronts too with the advent of streaming and Redbox rentals.

The people I truly feel sorry for at this point are those that have "bandwidth caps" on their internet service. Cord cutters beware...keep a close eye on your usage if you're in this situation or you'll end up with no internet at all... :(

And so it begins. Comcast must have learned they playbook from credit card companies, who charge their card holders fees, and then charge merchants for transaction fees. The are the middle man demanding payment from both sides, driving up cost. While the Netflix streaming experience may be enhanced by this deal, ultimately it will be the customers who end up paying the price.